England

The BPA is always ready to support regional groupings of ports in England, particularly to help in liaising with new Local Enterprise Partnerships. A recent example was the meeting at the BPA offices which brought together ports from the East and South East regions who wish to combine resources in demonstrating to politicians and regional planners the importance of ports and port generated traffic to the region. A further example is the BPA’s involvement in local groups drawing up regional marine plans.

The most active regional group in England is the South West Regional Ports Association with which the BPA has strong links and on whose behalf produced a special report on the economic contribution of ports in the South West to the regional economy called, “Gateways for Growth”. This was launched in Torquay in July 2009.